Genius-level intellect
A Cyberpathic link with a prior version of his powered armored suit:
Superhuman strength
Supersonic flight at Mach 3
Energy repulsors
Missiles
Durability and regenerative life support but sometimes powered by solar power

Iron Man (Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark) is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963), and was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby.

A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer, Stark suffers a severe heart injury during a kidnapping in which his captors attempt to force him to build a weapon of mass destruction. He instead creates a powered suit of armor to save his life and escape captivity. He later uses the suit to protect the world as Iron Man. Through his multinational corporation ― Stark Industries ― Tony has created many military weapons, some of which, along with other technological devices of his making, have been integrated into his suit, helping him fight crime. Initially, Iron Man was a vehicle for Stan Lee to explore Cold War themes, particularly the role of American technology and business in the fight against communism. Subsequent re-imaginings of Iron Man have gradually removed the Cold War themes, replacing them with more contemporary concerns such as corporate crime and terrorism.

Throughout most of the character’s publication history, Iron Man has been a member of the superhero team the Avengers and has been featured in several incarnations of his own various comic book series. Iron Man has been adapted for several animated TV shows and films. The character is portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. in the live action film Iron Man (2008), which was a box office success. Downey reprised the role in the sequel, Iron Man 2 (2010), and also played the character in a cameo in The Incredible Hulk (2008). Downey will also play the role in the upcoming film The Avengers (2012) and the planned Iron Man 3 (2013).

Premiere
Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963): Iron Man debuts. Cover art by Jack Kirby and Don Heck.Iron Man’s premiere was a collaboration among editor and story-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, story-artist Don Heck, and cover-artist and character-designer Jack Kirby. In 1963, Lee had been toying with the idea of a businessman superhero.[1] He wanted to create the “quintessential capitalist”, a character that would go against the spirit of the times and Marvel’s readership.[2] Lee said, “I think I gave myself a dare. It was the height of the Cold War. The readers, the young readers, if there was one thing they hated, it was war, it was the military … So I got a hero who represented that to the hundredth degree. He was a weapons manufacturer, he was providing weapons for the Army, he was rich, he was an industrialist … I thought it would be fun to take the kind of character that nobody would like, none of our readers would like, and shove him down their throats and make them like him … And he became very popular.”[3] He set out to make the new character a wealthy, glamorous ladies’ man, but one with a secret that would plague and torment him as well.[4] Writer Gerry Conway said, “Here you have this character, who on the outside is invulnerable, I mean, just can’t be touched, but inside is a wounded figure. Stan made it very much an in-your-face wound, you know, his heart was broken, you know, literally broken. But there’s a metaphor going on there. And that’s, I think, what made that character interesting”.[3] Lee based this playboy’s looks and personality on Howard Hughes,[5] explaining, “Howard Hughes was one of the most colorful men of our time. He was an inventor, an adventurer, a multi-billionaire, a ladies’ man and finally a nutcase”.[6] “Without being crazy, he was Howard Hughes,” Lee said.[3]

While Lee intended to write the story himself,[citation needed] he eventually handed the premiere issue to Lieber, who fleshed out the story.[4] The art was split between Kirby and Heck. “He designed the costume,” Heck said of Kirby, “because he was doing the cover. The covers were always done first. But I created the look of the characters, like Tony Stark and his secretary Pepper Potts.”[5][7]

Iron Man first appeared in 13- to 18-page stories in Tales of Suspense, which featured anthology science fiction and supernatural stories. The character’s original costume was a bulky gray armored suit, replaced by a golden version in the second story (issue #40, April 1963). It was redesigned as sleeker, red-and-golden armor in issue #48 (Dec. 1963); that issue’s interior art is by Steve Ditko and its cover by Kirby. In his premiere, Iron Man was an anti-communist hero, defeating various Vietnamese agents. Lee later regretted this early focus.[1][8] Throughout the character’s comic book series, technological advancement and national defense were constant themes for Iron Man, but later issues developed Stark into a more complex and vulnerable character as they depicted his battle with alcoholism (as in the “Demon in a Bottle” storyline) and other personal difficulties.

Tales of Suspense #48 (Dec. 1963), the debut of Iron Man’s red-and-gold armor. Cover art by Jack Kirby & Sol Brodsky.From issue #59 (Nov. 1964) to its final issue #99 (March 1968), the anthological science-fiction backup stories in Tales of Suspense were replaced by a feature starring the superhero Captain America. After issue #99 (March 1968), the book’s title was changed to Captain America. An Iron Man story appeared in the one-shot comic Iron Man and Sub-Mariner (April 1968), before the “Golden Avenger”[9] made his solo debut with The Invincible Iron Man #1 (May 1968).[10] Lee said that “of all the comic books we published at Marvel, we got more fan mail for Iron Man from women, from females, than any other title … We didn’t get much fan mail from girls, but whenever we did, the letter was usually addressed to Iron Man.”[3]

Writers have updated the war and locale in which Stark is injured. In the original 1963 story, it was the Vietnam War. In the 1990s, it was updated to be the first Gulf War,[11] and later updated again to be the war in Afghanistan. However, Stark’s time with the Asian Nobel Prize-winning scientist Ho Yinsen is consistent through nearly all incarnations of the Iron Man origin, depicting Stark and Yinsen building the original armor together. One exception is the direct-to-DVD animated feature film The Invincible Iron Man, in which the armor Stark uses to escape his captors is not the first Iron Man suit.

Themes

The original Iron Man title explored Cold War themes, as did other Stan Lee projects in the early years of Marvel Comics. Where The Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk respectively focused on American domestic and government responses to Communist threat, Iron Man explored industry’s role in the struggle. Tony Stark’s real-life model, Howard Hughes, was a significant defense contractor who helped develop new weapons technologies. At the same time Hughes was an icon both of American individualism and of the burdens of fame.[12]

Historian Robert Genter, in Journal of Pop Culture, says Tony Stark specifically presents an idealized portrait of the American inventor. Where earlier decades had seen important technological innovations come from famous individuals like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and the Wright brothers, the 1960s saw new technology, including weapons, being developed mainly by corporate research teams. Little room remained in this environment for the inventor who wanted credit for, and control of, his or her own creations.

Issues of entrepreneurial autonomy, government supervision of research, and ultimate loyalty figured prominently in early Iron Man stories — and all were issues then affecting American scientists and engineers.[12] Tony Stark, says Genter, is an inventor who finds motive in his emasculation as an autonomous creative individual. This blow is symbolized by his chest wound, inflicted at the moment he is forced to invent things for the purposes of others. Stark’s transformation into Iron Man represents his effort to reclaim his autonomy, and thus his manhood. The character’s pursuit of women in bed or in battle, says Genter, represents another aspect of this effort. The pattern finds parallels in other works of 1960s popular fiction by authors such as “Ian Fleming, Mickey Spillane, and Norman Mailer who made unregulated sexuality a form of authenticity.”[12]

Michelinie/Layton periodIn 1978, artist Bob Layton reunited with writer David Michelinie, with Iron Man #116 (Nov. 1978). The two would establish Tony Stark’s alcoholism with the story “Demon in a Bottle”, and introduce several supporting characters including Stark’s personal pilot and confidant Jim Rhodes, who would later become the superhero War Machine; Stark’s bodyguard girlfriend Bethany Cabe; and rival industrialist Justin Hammer, who was revealed to be the employer of numerous high-tech armed enemies Iron Man fought over the years. The duo also introduced the concept of Stark’s specialized armors while also acquiring a dangerous vendetta with Doctor Doom. The team was together through #154, with Michelinie writing a couple of additional issues without Layton. They returned for a second lengthy run from #215-250 (Feb. 1987 – Dec. 1989).

Later volumes

This initial series ended with issue #332 (Sept. 1996). A second volume, written primarily by differing teams of the trio Jim Lee, Scott Lobdell, and Jeph Loeb, and penciled primarily by Whilce Portacio and Ryan Benjamin successively, took place in a parallel universe and ran 13 issues (Nov. 1996 – Nov. 1997).[13] Volume 3, whose first 25 issues were written by Kurt Busiek initially and then by Busiek and Roger Stern, ran 89 issues (Feb. 1998 – Dec. 2004). Later writers included Joe Quesada, Frank Tieiri, Mike Grell, and John Jackson Miller. Issue #41 (June 2006) was additionally numbered #386, reflecting the start of dual numbering starting from the premiere issue of volume one in 1968. The final issue was dual-numbered as #434.[14]

Iron Man in his Extremis armor: The Invincible Iron Man vol. 4, #6 (May 2006). Cover art by Adi Granov.The next Iron Man series, The Invincible Iron Man vol. 4, debuted in early 2005 with the Warren Ellis-written storyline “Extremis”, with artist Adi Granov.[15] It ran 35 issues (Jan. 2005 – Jan. 2009), with the cover logo simply Iron Man beginning with issue #13, and Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. beginning issue #15. On the final three issues, the cover logo was overwritten by “War Machine Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D.”,[16] which led to the launch of a War Machine ongoing series.[17]

The Invincible Iron Man vol. 5, by writer Matt Fraction and artist Salvador Larroca, began with a premiere issue cover-dated July 2008.[18] For a seven-month overlap, Marvel published both volume four and volume five simultaneously.[16][19] Volume five jumped its numbering of issues from #33 to #500, published in January 2011, to reflect the start from the premiere issue of volume one in 1968.

The son of a wealthy industrialist and head of Stark Industries, Howard Stark, and Maria Stark, Anthony Stark is born on Long Island. A boy genius, he enters MIT at the age of 15 to study electrical engineering and computer science. After his parents’ accidental deaths in a car crash, he inherits his father’s company.

While observing the effects of his experimental technologies on the American war effort, Tony Stark is injured by a booby trap and captured by the enemy led by Wong-Chu, who then orders him to design weapons. However, Stark’s injuries are dire and shrapnel is moving towards his heart. His fellow prisoner, Ho Yinsen, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose work Stark had greatly admired during college, constructs a magnetic chest plate to keep the shrapnel from reaching Stark’s heart, keeping him alive. In secret, Stark and Yinsen use the workshop to design and construct a suit of powered armor, which Stark uses to escape. But during the escape attempt, Yinsen sacrifices his life to save Stark’s by distracting the enemy as Stark recharges. Stark takes revenge on his kidnappers and heads back to rejoin the American forces, on his way meeting a wounded American Marine fighter pilot, James “Rhodey” Rhodes.

Back home, Stark discovers the shrapnel lodged in his chest cannot be removed without killing him, and he is forced to wear the armor’s chestplate beneath his clothes to act as a regulator for his heart. He must also recharge the chestplate every day or else risk the shrapnel killing him. The cover for Iron Man is that he is Stark’s bodyguard and corporate mascot. To that end, Iron Man fights threats to his company, such as Communist opponents Black Widow, the Crimson Dynamo and the Titanium Man, as well as independent villains like the Mandarin. No one suspects Stark of being Iron Man as he cultivates an image as a rich playboy and industrialist. Two notable members of Stark’s supporting cast at this point are his personal chauffeur Harold “Happy” Hogan and secretary Virginia “Pepper” Potts, to both of whom he eventually reveals his dual identity. Meanwhile, James Rhodes would find his own niche as Stark’s personal pilot of extraordinary skill and daring.

The comic took an anti-Communist stance in its early years, which was softened as opposition rose to the Vietnam War.[1] This change evolved in a series of stories with Stark profoundly reconsidering his political opinions and the morality of manufacturing weapons for the military. Stark, however, shows himself to be occasionally arrogant and willing to let the ends justify the means.[21][22] This leads to personal conflicts with the people around him, both in his civilian and superhero identities. Stark uses his personal fortune not only to outfit his own armor, but to develop weapons for S.H.I.E.L.D. and other technologies such as the Quinjets used by the Avengers, and the image inducers used by the X-Men.

Eventually, Stark’s heart condition is discovered by the public and cured with an artificial heart transplant.[volume & issue needed] Later on, Stark expands on his armor designs and begins to build his arsenal of specialized armors for particular situations such as for stealth and space travel.[23] However, Stark also develops a serious dependency on alcohol.[24] The first time it becomes a problem is when Stark discovers that the national security agency S.H.I.E.L.D. has been buying a controlling interest in his company in order to ensure Stark’s continued weapons development for them. At the same time, Stark’s business rival Justin Hammer hires several supervillains to attack Stark.[volume & issue needed] At one point, the Iron Man armor is even taken over and used to murder a diplomat. Although Iron Man is not immediately under suspicion, Stark is forced to hand the armor over to the authorities.[volume & issue needed] Eventually Stark and Rhodes, who is now his personal pilot and confidant, track down and defeat those responsible, although Hammer would return to bedevil Stark again.[volume & issue needed] With the support of his then-girlfriend, Bethany Cabe, his friends and his employees, Stark pulls through these crises and overcomes his dependency on alcohol.[volume & issue needed] These events were collected and published as Demon in a Bottle. Even as he recovers from this harrowing personal trial, Stark’s life is further complicated when he has a confrontation with Doctor Doom that is interrupted by an opportunistic enemy sending them back in time to the time of King Arthur.[25] Once there, Iron Man thwarts Doom’s attempt to solicit the aid of Morgan Le Fay, and the Latverian ruler swears deadly vengeance – to be eventually indulged sometime after the truce needed for both to return to their own time.[26] This incident was collected and published as Doomquest.

Some time later, a ruthless rival, Obadiah Stane, manipulates Stark emotionally into a serious relapse. As a result, Stark loses control of Stark International, becomes a homeless alcoholic vagrant and gives up his armored identity to Rhodes, who becomes the new Iron Man for a lengthy period of time. Eventually, Stark recovers and joins a new startup, Circuits Maximus. Stark concentrates on new technological designs, including building a new set of armor as part of his recuperative therapy. Rhodes continues to act as Iron Man but steadily grows more aggressive and paranoid, due to the armor not being calibrated properly for his use. Eventually Rhodes goes on a rampage, and Stark has to don a replica of his original armor to stop him. Rather than give Stark the satisfaction of taking Stane to trial, Stane commits suicide. [27] Shortly thereafter, Stark regains his personal fortune, but decides against repurchasing Stark International until much later; he instead creates Stark Enterprises, headquartered in Los Angeles.

[edit] Late 1980s and 1990s This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

In an attempt to stop other people from misusing his designs, Stark goes about disabling other armored heroes and villains who are using suits based on the Iron Man technology, the designs of which were stolen by his enemy Spymaster. His quest to destroy all instances of the stolen technology severely hurts his reputation as Iron Man. After attacking and disabling a series of minor villains such as Stilt-Man, he attacks and defeats the government operative known as Stingray. The situation worsens when Stark realizes that Stingray’s armor does not incorporate any of his designs. He publicly “fires” Iron Man while covertly pursuing his agenda. He uses the cover story of wanting to help disable the rogue Iron Man to infiltrate and disable the armor of the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives known as the Mandroids, and disabling the armor of the Guardsmen, in the process allowing some of the villains that they guard to escape. This leads the United States government to declare Iron Man a danger and an outlaw. Iron Man then travels to Russia where he inadvertently causes the death of the Soviet Titanium Man during a fight. Returning to the U.S., he faces an enemy commissioned by the government named Firepower. Unable to defeat him head on, Stark fakes Iron Man’s demise, intending to retire the suit forever. When Firepower goes rogue, Stark creates a new suit, claiming that a new person is in the armor.

Stark’s health continues to deteriorate, and he discovers the armor’s cybernetic interface is causing irreversible damage to his nervous system. His condition is aggravated by a failed attempt on his life by a mentally unbalanced former lover which injures his spine, paralyzing him. Stark has a nerve chip implanted into his spine to regain his mobility. Still, Stark’s nervous system continues its slide towards failure, and he constructs a “skin” made up of artificial nerve circuitry to assist it. Stark also begins to pilot a remote-controlled Iron Man armor, but when faced with the Masters of Silence, the telepresence suit proves inadequate. Stark then designs a more heavily-armed version of the suit to wear, the “Variable Threat Response Battle Suit”, which becomes known as the War Machine armor. Ultimately, the damage to his nervous system becomes too extensive. Faking his death, Stark places himself in suspended animation to heal as Rhodes takes over the running of Stark Enterprises and the mantle of Iron Man using the War Machine armor. Stark ultimately makes a full recovery by using a chip to reprogram himself and resumes the Iron Man identity. When Rhodes learns that Stark has manipulated his friends by faking his own death, he becomes enraged and the two friends part ways, Rhodes continuing as War Machine in a solo career.

The story arc “The Crossing” reveals Iron Man as a traitor among the Avengers’ ranks, due to years of manipulation by the time-traveling dictator Kang the Conqueror. Stark, as a sleeper agent in Kang’s thrall, kills Marilla, the nanny of Crystal and Quicksilver’s daughter Luna, as well as Rita DeMara, the female Yellowjacket, then Amanda Chaney, an ally of the Avengers (the miniseries Avengers Forever later retcons these events as the work of a disguised Immortus, not Kang, and that the mental control had gone back only a few months).

Needing help to defeat both Stark and the ostensible Kang, the team travels back in time to recruit a teenaged Anthony Stark from an alternate timeline to assist them. The young Stark steals an Iron Man suit in order to aid the Avengers against his older self. The sight of his younger self shocks the older Stark enough for him to regain momentary control of his actions, and he sacrifices his life to stop Kang. The young Stark later builds his own suit to become the new Iron Man, and, remaining in the present day, gains legal control of “his” company.

During the battle with the creature called Onslaught, the teenaged Stark dies, along with many other superheroes. However, Franklin Richards preserves these “dead” heroes in the “Heroes Reborn” pocket universe, in which Anthony Stark is once again an adult hero; Franklin recreates the heroes in the pocket universe in the forms he is most familiar with rather than what they are at the present. The reborn adult Stark, upon returning to the normal Marvel Universe, merges with the original Stark, who had died during “The Crossing”, but was resurrected by Franklin Richards. This new Anthony Stark possesses the memories of both the original and teenage Anthony Starks, and thus considers himself to be essentially both of them. With the aid of the law firm Nelson & Murdock, he successfully regains his fortune and, with Stark Enterprises having been sold to the Fujikawa Corporation following Stark’s death, sets up a new company, Stark Solutions. He also returns from the pocket universe with a restored and healthy heart. After the Avengers reform, Stark demands a hearing be convened to look into his actions just prior to the Onslaught incident. Cleared of wrongdoing, he rejoins the Avengers.

[edit] 2000sAt one point, Stark’s armor becomes sentient despite fail-safes to prevent its increasingly sophisticated computer systems from doing so. Initially, Stark welcomes this “living” armor for its improved tactical abilities. However, the armor begins to grow more aggressive, killing indiscriminately and eventually desiring to replace Stark altogether. In the final confrontation on a desert island, Stark suffers another heart attack. The armor sacrifices its own existence to save its creator’s life, giving up essential components to give Stark a new, artificial heart. This new heart solves Stark’s health problems, but it does not have an internal power supply, so Stark becomes once again dependent on periodic recharging. The sentient armor incident so disturbs Stark that he temporarily returns to using an unsophisticated early model version of his armor to avoid a repeat incident. He also dabbles with using liquid metal circuitry known as S.K.I.N. that forms into a protective shell around his body, but eventually returns to more conventional hard metal armors.

During this time, Stark engages in a romance with Rumiko Fujikawa (first appearance in Iron Man (vol. 3) #4), a wealthy heiress and daughter of the man who had taken over his company during the “Heroes Reborn” period. Her relationship with Stark endures many highs and lows, including an infidelity with Stark’s rival, Tiberius Stone, in part because the fun-loving Rumiko believes that Stark is too serious and dull. Their relationship ends with Rumiko’s death at the hands of an Iron Man impostor in Iron Man (vol. 3) #87.

In Iron Man (vol. 3) #55 (July 2002), Stark publicly reveals his dual identity as Iron Man, not realizing that by doing so, he has invalidated the agreements protecting his armor from government duplication (since those contracts state that the Iron Man armor would be used by an employee of Tony Stark, not by Stark himself). When he discovers that the United States military is again using his technology, Stark accepts a Presidential appointment as Secretary of Defense instead of confronting them as he did before. In this way, he hopes to monitor and direct how his designs are used.

In the “Avengers Disassembled” storyline, Stark is forced to resign after launching into a tirade against the Latverian ambassador at the United Nations, being manipulated by the mentally imbalanced Scarlet Witch, who destroys the Avengers mansion and kills several members. Stark publicly stands down as Iron Man, but actually continues using the costume. He joins the Avengers in stopping the breakout in progress from the Raft and even saves Captain America from falling.[28] Tony changes the Avengers base to Stark Tower[29] The Ghost, the Living Laser and Spymaster reappear and shift Iron Man from standard superhero stories to dealing with politics and industrialism.[30]

New Avengers: Illuminati #1 (June 2006) reveals that years before, Stark had started participating with a group of leaders including Black Panther, Professor X, Mister Fantastic, Black Bolt, Doctor Strange, and Namor. The goal of the group (dubbed the Illuminati by Marvel) was to strategize overarching menaces (in which Black Panther rejects membership). Stark’s goal is to create a governing body for all superheroes in the world, but the beliefs of its members instead force them all to share vital information.

[edit] “Civil War”In the Civil War storyline, after the actions of inexperienced superheroes The New Warriors result in the destruction of several city blocks, including the elementary school, in Stamford, Connecticut there is an outcry across America against superhumans. Learning of the Government’s proposed plans, Tony Stark suggests a new plan to instigate a Superhuman Registration Act. The Act would force every super-powered individual in the U.S. to register their identity with the government and act as licensed agents. The Act would also force inexperienced superhumans to receive training in how to use and control their abilities, something that Tony strongly believes in. Since his struggle with alcoholism Stark has carried a tremendous burden of guilt after nearly killing an innocent bystander while piloting the Iron Man drunk. Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four and Hank Pym both agree with Tony’s proposal, unfortunately not everyone agrees. After Captain America is ordered to bring in anyone that refuses to register he goes rogue and gives those opposed to registration a figurehead to rally behind leading to a destructive “superhero civil war”. The War ends when Captain America surrenders to prevent further collateral damage and civilian casualties, although he had nearly defeated Stark by defusing his armor. Stark is appointed the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D.,[31] and he organizes a new government-sanctioned group of Avengers (while the New Avengers team, under the de facto leadership of Luke Cage, continues to defy the Superhuman Registration Act and operate underground). Shortly afterward, Captain America is assassinated while in custody, leaving Stark with a great amount of guilt and misgivings about the cost of his victory.

[edit] “Secret Invasion”In the “Secret Invasion” storyline, after Tony Stark survives an encounter with Ultron taking over his body, he is confronted in the hospital by Spider-Woman, holding the corpse of a Skrull posing as Elektra. Becoming keenly aware of the upcoming invasion of the Skrulls, Tony gathers the Illuminati and reveals the corpse to them, declaring they’re at war. After Black Bolt reveals himself as a Skrull and is killed by Namor, a squadron of Skrulls attack, forcing Tony to evacuate the other Illuminati members and destroy the area, killing all the Skrulls. Realizing they’re incapable of trusting each other, the members all separate to form individual plans for the oncoming invasion.

Tony becomes discredited and publicly vilified after his inability to anticipate or prevent a secret infiltration and invasion of Earth by the shape-shifting alien Skrull race, and by the Skrull disabling of his StarkTech technology, which had a virtual monopoly on worldwide defense.[32] After the invasion, the U.S. government removes him as head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and disbands the Avengers, handing control of the Initiative over to Norman Osborn.

“Dark Reign”

Main article: Dark Reign (comics)

The Invincible Iron Man
With his Extremis powers failing, Stark uploads a virus to destroy all records of the Registration Act, thus preventing Osborn from learning the identities of his fellow heroes and anything that Osborn could possibly exploit, including repulsor generators. The only copy of that database remaining is in Stark’s brain, which he is trying to delete bit by bit while on the run in one of his extra armors.[33] As Norman Osborn has him hunted as a fugitive, Stark travels worldwide on his quest to wipe out his mental database, going so far as to inflict brain damage on himself. When Osborn personally catches up to the debilitated Stark and beats him savagely, Pepper Potts broadcasts the beatings worldwide, costing Osborn credibility and giving Stark public sympathy. Stark goes into a vegetative state, having previously granted Donald Blake (alter ego of the Norse-god superhero Thor) power of attorney.[34] A holographic message stored in Pepper’s armor reveals that Stark had developed a means of ‘rebooting’ his mind from his current state prior to his destruction of the database, with Blake and Bucky resolving to use it to restore him to normal despite Stark’s offer in the message to stay in his current state if it would make things easier and Pepper’s own uncertainty about the fact that Tony can come back when so many others cannot. Meanwhile, in Stark’s subconscious, he is trapped in a scenario where figments of his own mind are preventing him from moving on and returning to the waking world. When the procedure doesn’t work, Bucky calls in Doctor Strange, who attempts to and succeeds in restoring Stark back to consciousness. However, it turns out the backup Stark created was made prior to the Civil War, and as such he does not remember anything that took place during the event.[35]

[edit] “Siege”Main article: Siege (comics)
In the “Siege” storyline, Tony Stark is seen under the care of Dr. Donald Blake and Maria Hill. When the two spot the attack on Asgard, Blake tells Maria to run away with Stark.[36] Hill leaves Stark to assist Blake, now as Thor, after his ambush by Osborn and his attack dog the Sentry. Hill rescues Thor and brings him back to Broxton to recuperate. When Osborn declares martial law and unleashes Daken and then the Sentry on Broxton to root out Thor and Hill, Thor reveals himself to defend the town. Hill returns to Tony Stark’s hiding place to move him to a safer location and are joined soon after by Speed of the Young Avengers, who holds a certain indestructible suitcase Jarvis gave Captain America earlier. Hill orders Speed to surrender when Stark stops her and asks Speed to give him the case. While Osborn is battling the New Avengers, Stark appears in a variant of his MK III armor and proceeds to disable Osborn’s Iron Patriot armor. Osborn orders the Sentry to annihilate Asgard, rather than allow the Avengers to have it, which the Sentry does, practically leveling the city before the horrified eyes of Thor. After Asgard falls, literally, Stark stands alongside his fellow heroes, as the now armor-free Osborn exclaims they are all doomed and he ‘was saving them from him’ pointing up towards a Void-possessed Sentry hovering over them.[37] As the Void tears apart the teams, Loki gives them the power to fight back through the Norn Stones. When the Void kills Loki, Thor’s rage-fueled blows rattles the creature. Tony tells Thor to get Void away from Asgard, which he does. Tony then drops the commandeered H.A.M.M.E.R. Helicarrier ‘as a bullet’, subduing the Void. When Robert Reynolds begs to be killed, Thor denies the request, but is forced to when the Void resurfaces. Sometime later, the Superhuman Registration Act is repealed and Tony is given back his company and armory. As a symbol for their heroics and their new unity, Thor places a remaining asgardian tower on Stark Tower where the Watchtower once stood.[38] Tony later attends a private funeral for Robert Reynolds.[39]

[edit] “Heroic Age”Main article: Heroic Age (comics)
In the 2010-2011 “Stark: Resilient” storyline, Tony builds a new armor, the Bleeding Edge, with the help of Mister Fantastic. Later, Tony announces that he will form a new company, Stark Resilient. He also states that he will stop developing weapons, instead, he plans to use his repulsor technology to give free energy to the world. However, Justine and Sasha Hammer create their own armored hero, Detroit Steel, to take Stark’s place as the Army’s leading weapons-builder. Stark’s plan consists of building two repulsor-powered cars. However, the Hammers try to foil his efforts. The first car is destroyed by sabotage, while Detroit Steel attacks Stark Resilient’s facilities while Tony tests the second car.[40]

Powers and abilities

ArmorSee

The Bleeding Edge Armor, like the Extremis Armor before it, is stored in Stark’s bones, and can be assembled and controlled by his thoughts.Iron Man possesses powered armor that gives him superhuman strength and durability, flight, and an array of weapons. The armor is invented and worn by Stark (with occasional short-term exceptions). Other people who have assumed the Iron Man identity include Stark’s long-time partner and best friend James Rhodes; close associates Harold “Happy” Hogan; Eddie March; and (briefly) Michael O’Brien.

The weapons systems of the suit have changed over the years, but Iron Man’s standard offensive weapons have always been the repulsor rays that are fired from the palms of his gauntlets. Other weapons built into various incarnations of the armor include: the uni-beam projector in its chest; pulse bolts (that pick up on kinetic energy along the way; so the farther they travel, the harder they hit); an electromagnetic pulse generator; and a defensive energy shield that can be extended up to 360 degrees. Other capabilities include: generating ultra-freon (i.e., a freeze-beam); creating and manipulating magnetic fields; emitting sonic blasts; and projecting 3-dimensional holograms (to create decoys).

In addition to the general-purpose model he wears, Stark has developed several specialized suits for space travel, deep-sea diving, stealth, and other special purposes. Stark has modified suits, like the Hulkbuster heavy armor. The Hulkbuster armor is composed of add-ons to his so-called modular armor, designed to enhance its strength and durability enough to engage the Incredible Hulk in a fight. A later model, designed for use against Thor, is modeled on the Destroyer and uses a mystical powersource. Stark also develops an electronics pack during the Armor Wars that, when attached to armors that use Stark technologies, will burn-out those components—rendering the suit useless. This pack is ineffective on later models, however. While it is typically associated with James Rhodes, the War Machine armor also began as one of Stark’s specialty armors.

The most recent models of Stark’s armor, beginning with the Extremis Armor, are now stored in the hollow portions of Stark’s bones, and the personal area networking implement used to control it is implanted in his forearm, and connected directly to his central nervous system, making Stark essentially a cyborg.

Powers

For a time, due to an artificial nervous system installed after he suffered extensive damage to his nervous system, Stark had superhumanly acute sensory perceptions as well as extraordinary awareness of the physical processes within his own body.[volume & issue needed]

After being critically injured during a battle with the Extremis-enhanced Mallen, Stark injects his nervous system with a modified techno-organic virus-like body restructuring machines (the Extremis process).[volume & issue needed] By rewriting his own biology, Stark is able to save his life, gain an enhanced healing factor and partially merge with the Iron Man armor, superseding the need for bulky, AI-controlled armors in favor of lighter designs, technopathically controlled by his own brain. His enhanced technopathy extends to every piece of technology, limitless and effortlessly (due to his ability to interface with communication satellites and wireless connections to increase his “range”). Some components of the armor-sheath are now stored in Tony’s body, able to be recalled, and extruded from his own skin, at will.

During the “Secret Invasion” storyline the Extremis package is catastrophically purged out of his body, forcing him again to rely on the previous iteration of his armor, and restoring his previous limitations.[volume & issue needed] Furthermore, Osborn’s takeover of the few remaining Starktech factories (with Ezekiel Stane systematically crippling the others) limits Tony to the use of lesser, older and weaker armors.

After being forced to “wipe out” his brain to prevent Norman Osborn from gaining his information, Tony Stark is forced to have a new arc reactor, of Rand design installed in his chest. The process greatly improves his strength, stamina and intellect. However, the procedure left him with virtually no autonomic functions: as his brain was stripped of every biological function, Tony is forced to rely on a digital backup of his memories (leaving him with severe gaps and lapses in his long-term memory) and on software routine in the arc reactor for basic stimuli reaction, such as blinking and breathing.[41]

SkillsTony

Stark is an inventive genius whose expertise in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computers rival that of Reed Richards, Hank Pym, and Bruce Banner, and his expertise in engineering surpasses even them. He is regarded as one of the most intelligent characters in the Marvel Universe. He graduated with advanced degrees in physics and engineering at the age of 21 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)[42] and further developed his knowledge ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum mechanics as time progressed. Furthermore, this extends to his ingenuity in dealing with difficult situations such as difficult foes and deathtraps where he is capable of using his available tools like his suit in unorthodox and effective ways. He is also well-respected in the business world, able to command people’s attentions when he speaks on economic matters by virtue of the fact that he is savvy enough to have, over the years, built up several multi-million dollar companies from virtually nothing. He is known for the loyalty he commands from and returns to those who work for him, as well as his business ethics. He also strives to be environmentally responsible in his businesses. For example he immediately fired an employee who made profitable, but illegal, sales to Doctor Doom.

When Stark was unable to use his armor for a period of time, he received some combat training from Captain America and has become physically formidable on his own when the situation demands it.[volume & issue needed] He also received further hand-to-hand combat training from Happy Hogan (a professional boxer) and James Rhodes (a Marine).[volume & issue needed]

In addition, Stark possesses great business and political acumen. On multiple occasions he reacquired control of his companies after losing them amid corporate takeovers.[43]

Due to his membership in the Illuminati, Iron Man was given the Reality Infinity Gem to safeguard.[44] It allows the user to fulfill wishes, even if the wish is in direct contradiction with scientific laws. Iron Man has not used it on any occasion, even after the Secret Invasion and his fugitive status.

Enemies
Main article: List of Iron Man enemies
Over forty years of publication, Iron Man has fought many villains. Some have been parts of significant or recurring storylines, including the Iron Monger, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, Justin Hammer, the Ghost, Blacklash, and the Mandarin.

Other versions

Alternative versions of Iron Man
In other mediaMain article: Iron Man in other media
In the 1960s Iron Man featured in a series of cartoons. In 1981, Iron Man guest appeared in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends only as Tony Stark.[45] He went on to feature again in his own series in the 1990s as part of the Marvel Action Hour with the Fantastic Four. Iron Man also makes an appearance in the episode “Shell Games” of Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes. Apart from comic books, Iron Man appears in Capcom’s “Vs.” video games including Marvel Super Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (as a Gold War Machine or Hyper Armor War Machine), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Iron Man is a playable character in Iron Man, the 1992 arcade game Captain America and the Avengers, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and its sequel, and Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, as well as being featured as an unlockable character in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse and Tony Hawk’s Underground.[46] In the 2009 animated series, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, most of the characters, including Tony Stark, are teenagers. An anime adaptation began airing in Japan in October 2010 as part of a collaboration between Marvel Animation and Madhouse, in which Stark, voiced by Keiji Fujiwara, travels to Japan where he ends up facing against the Zodiac.[47]

In 2008, a film adaptation titled Iron Man was released starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark. It received generally positive reviews from film critics,[48] grossing $318 million domestically and $570 million worldwide.[49] Its video game adaptation, however met generally negative reviews.[50] Downey reprised his role in Iron Man 2, which was released in 2010, again directed by Jon Favreau. Downey has now also signed up for a second sequel and an adaptation of The Avengers.[citation needed]

The character of Tony Stark, again played by Robert Downey, Jr., also appears at the end of the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk.

Cultural influence

The rapper Ghostface Killah, a member of Wu-Tang Clan, titled his 1996 debut solo album Ironman, and has since continued to use lyrics related to the Iron Man comics and samples from the animated TV shows on his records.[citation needed] He has also adopted the nickname Tony Starks as one of his numerous alter-egos[citation needed] and was featured in a scene deleted from the Iron Man film.

Paul McCartney’s song “Magneto and Titanium Man” was inspired by the X-Men’s arch-nemesis and the original version of the Iron Man villain. Another Iron Man villain, the Crimson Dynamo, is mentioned in the lyrics to this song.[citation needed]

The British band Razorlight mentions Tony Stark in a verse of their song, “Hang By, Hang By”.[citation needed]

An abridged version of the Black Sabbath song, “Iron Man”, is played over the closing credits of the 2008 movie,[51] as well as several of its previews.

The character of Nathan Stark on the television show Eureka is inspired by Tony Stark.[52]

Forbes has ranked Iron Man among the wealthiest fictional characters on their annual ranking,[53] while BusinessWeek has ranked him as one of the ten most intelligent characters in American comics.[54]

The Hulk is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). In 2008, the hobbyist magazine Wizard named the Hulk the seventh-greatest Marvel Comics character.[1] Empire Magazine named him the 14th-greatest comic book character, and the fifth-greatest Marvel character.[2]

The Hulk is cast as the emotional and impulsive alter ego of the withdrawn and reserved physicist Dr. Bruce Banner. The Hulk appears shortly after Banner is accidentally exposed to the blast of a test detonation of a gamma bomb he invented. Subsequently, Banner will involuntarily transform into the Hulk, depicted as a giant, raging, humanoid monster, leading to extreme complications in Banner’s life. Lee said the Hulk’s creation was inspired by a combination of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein.[3]

Although the Hulk’s coloration has varied throughout the character’s publication history, the most consistent shade is green. As the Hulk, Banner is capable of significant feats of strength, which increases in direct proportion to the character’s anger. As the character himself puts it, “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets!” Strong emotions such as anger, terror and grief are also triggers for forcing Banner’s transformation into the Hulk. A common storyline is the pursuit of both Banner and the Hulk by the U.S. authorities, due to the destruction he causes.
The character has since been depicted in various other media, most notably by Lou Ferrigno in a live action television series, six television movies, and an animated series; through the use of CGI in Hulk (2003) and The Incredible Hulk (2008), as well as in three animated series and various video games.

Publication history
Concept and creation
The Hulk first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), written by writer-editor Stan Lee, and penciller and co-plotter Jack Kirby, and inked by Paul Reinman. Lee cites influence from Frankenstein[4] and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the Hulk’s creation:

“I combined Jekyll and Hyde with Frankenstein,” he explains, “and I got myself the monster I wanted, who was really good, but nobody knew it. He was also somebody who could change from a normal man into a monster, and lo, a legend was born.”[5] Lee remembers, “I had always loved the old movie Frankenstein. And it seemed to me that the monster, played by Boris Karloff, wasn’t really a bad guy. He was the good guy. He didn’t want to hurt anybody. It’s just those idiots with torches kept running up and down the mountains, chasing him and getting him angry. And I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to create a monster and make him the good guy?'[5]
Lee also compared Hulk to the Golem of Jewish myth.[4] In The Science of Superheroes, Gresh and Weinberg see the Hulk as a reaction to the Cold War[6] and the threat of nuclear attack, an interpretation shared by Weinstein in Up, Up and Oy Vey.[4] Kaplan calls Hulk “schizophrenic.”[7] Jack Kirby has also commented upon his influences in drawing the character, recalling as inspiration the tale of a mother who rescues her child who is trapped beneath a car.[8]

Debut and first series
The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). Cover art by Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman.In the debut, Lee chose grey for the Hulk because he wanted a color that did not suggest any particular ethnic group.[9] Colorist Stan Goldberg, however, had problems with the grey coloring, resulting in different shades of grey, and even green, in the issue. After seeing the first published issue, Lee chose to change the skin color to green.[10] Green was used in retellings of the origin, with even reprints of the original story being recolored for the next two decades, until The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #302 (December 1984) reintroduced the grey Hulk in flashbacks set close to the origin story. Since then, reprints of the first issue have displayed the original grey coloring, with the fictional canon specifying that the Hulk’s skin had initially been grey.

The original series was canceled with issue #6 (March 1963). Lee had written each story, with Kirby penciling the first five issues and Steve Ditko penciling and inking the sixth. The character immediately guest-starred in The Fantastic Four #12 (March 1963), and months later became a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers, appearing in the first two issues of the team’s eponymous series (Sept. & Nov. 1963), and returning as an antagonist in issues #3 and #5 (Jan.–May 1964). He then guest-starred in Fantastic Four #25-26 (April–May 1964), which revealed his first name, Robert, and The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964).

Around this time, co-creator Kirby received a letter from a college dormitory stating the Hulk had been chosen as its official mascot.[4] Kirby and Lee realized their character had found an audience in college-age readers.

Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish #60 (Oct. 1964). Cover art by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky.A year and a half after the series was canceled, the Hulk became one of two features in Tales to Astonish, beginning in issue #60 (Oct. 1964). In the previous issue, he had appeared as an antagonist for Giant-Man, whose feature under various superhero guises had run in the title since issue #35. This phase also introduced the concept of Banner’s transformations being caused by extreme emotional stress, which would become central to the character’s status as an iconic figure of runaway emotion. This new Hulk feature was initially scripted by writer-editor Lee and illustrated by the team of penciller Steve Ditko and inker George Roussos. Other artists later in this run included Jack Kirby from #68-84 (June 1965 – Oct. 1966), doing full pencils or, more often, layouts for other artists; Gil Kane, credited as “Scott Edwards”, in #76 (Feb. 1966), his first Marvel Comics work; Bill Everett inking Kirby in #78-84 (April–Oct. 1966); and John Buscema. Marie Severin finished out the Hulk’s run in Tales to Astonish. Beginning with issue #102 (April 1968) the book was retitled The Incredible Hulk, and ran until March 1999, when Marvel canceled the series and restarted the title with a new issue #1. The Tales to Astonish run introduced the supervillains the Leader,[3] who would become the Hulk’s archnemesis, and the Abomination, another gamma-irradiated being.[3] In issue #77 (March 1966), Bruce Banner’s and the Hulk’s dual identity became publicly known.

1970s

The Incredible Hulk was published through the 1970s, and the character also made guest appearances in other titles. Writers introduced Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk, in a title of her own. In the first issue of the She-Hulk comic, Banner gave some of his blood to Walters in a transfusion, and the gamma radiation affected her, but she maintained most of her intellect. She later appeared in the Hulk comic proper, as well as other Marvel titles. Banner’s guilt about causing her change became another part of his character, although Jennifer grew to prefer her Hulk state.

Writers changed numerous times during the decade. At times, the creative staff included Archie Goodwin, Chris Claremont, and Tony Isabella, Len Wein handled many of the stories through the 1970s, working first with Herb Trimpe, then, in 1975, with Sal Buscema, who was the regular artist for ten years. Harlan Ellison plotted a story, scripted by Roy Thomas, for issue #140 (June 1971), “The Brute that Shouted Love at the Heart of the Atom”. Issues #180-181 (Oct.-Nov. 1974) introduced the character Wolverine, who would go on to become one of Marvel Comics’ most popular.

In 1977, Marvel (under its Curtis Magazines imprint) launched a second title, The Rampaging Hulk, a black-and-white comics magazine.[3] Originally, the series was conceived as a flashback series, set between the end of his original, short-lived solo title and the beginning of his feature in Tales to Astonish.[11] After nine issues, the magazine was retitled The Hulk! and printed in full color. Near the end of the magazine’s run, it went back to black-and-white.[12] Back-up features included Bloodstone, Man-Thing, and Shanna the She-Devil during the Rampaging Hulk issues, and later Moon Knight and Dominic Fortune. Ultimately, the stories from both incarnations of the magazine were quietly retconned as “movies” based upon the Hulk for alien audiences.[citation needed]

1980s and 1990s

Following Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo took over the writing with issue #245 (March 1980). His “Crossroads of Eternity” stories, which ran through issues #300-313 (Oct. 1984 – Nov. 1985), explored the idea that Banner had suffered child abuse. Greg Pak, a later writer on The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2), called Mantlo’s “Crossroads” stories one of his biggest influences on approaching the character.[13] After five years, Mantlo and artist Mike Mignola left the title for Alpha Flight,[14] and Alpha Flight writer John Byrne took over the series, followed briefly by Al Milgrom, before new regular writer Peter David took over.

David became the writer of the series with issue #331 (May 1987), marking the start of a 12-year tenure. David’s run altered Banner’s pre-Hulk characterization and the nature of the relationship between Banner and the Hulk. David returned to the Stern and Mantlo abuse storyline, expanding the damage caused, and depicting Banner as suffering dissociative identity disorder (DID). David’s stories showed that Banner had serious mental problems long before he became the Hulk. David revamped the personality significantly, giving the grey Hulk the alias “Joe Fixit,” and setting him up as a morally ambiguous Vegas enforcer and tough guy. David worked with numerous artists over his run on the series, including Dale Keown, Todd McFarlane, Sam Kieth, Gary Frank, Liam Sharp, Terry Dodson, Mike Deodato, George Pérez, and Adam Kubert.[3]

In issue #377 (Jan. 1991), David revamped the Hulk again, using a storyline involving hypnosis to have the splintered personalities of Banner and Hulk synthesize into a new Hulk, who has the vast power of the Savage Hulk, the cunning of the grey Hulk, and the intelligence of Bruce Banner.

In the 1993 Future Imperfect miniseries, writer David and penciller George Pérez introduced readers to the Hulk of a dystopian future. Calling himself the Maestro, the Hulk rules over a world where most of the heroes have been killed, and only Rick Jones and a small band of rebels fight against the Maestro’s rule. Although the Maestro seemed to be destroyed by the end, he returned in The Incredible Hulk #460 (Jan. 1998), also written by David.

In 1998, David followed editor Bobbie Chase’s suggestion to kill Betty Ross. In the introduction to the Hulk trade paperback Beauty and the Behemoth, David said that his wife had recently left him, providing inspiration for the storyline. Marvel executives used Ross’ death as an opportunity to push the idea of bringing back the Savage Hulk. David disagreed, leading to his parting ways with Marvel.[15] His last issue of Hulk was #467 (Aug. 1998), his 137th.

Also in 1998, Marvel relaunched The Rampaging Hulk as a standard comic book rather than as a comics magazine.

Relaunch

Following David’s departure, Joe Casey took over as writer until the series’ relaunch after issue #474 (March 1999). Hulk vol. 2[16] began immediately the following month, scripted by John Byrne and penciled by Ron Garney. Byrne supported the editorial decision to push for the return of the “savage” Hulk, but his work on the book was negatively received. In particular, the 1999 Hulk Annual (which retconned the Skrulls as being responsible for the Gamma Bomb explosion that turned Banner into Hulk) were widely reviled and mocked in the pages of Peter David’s Captain Marvel series, which was being published at the same time as Byrne’s Hulk run. Byrne would ultimately leave as writers decided to retool the series to appeal to fans who wanted a smarter and less childlike Hulk.[17] Erik Larsen and Jerry Ordway briefly filled scripting duties in his place, and the title returned to The Incredible Hulk (vol. 3)[18] with the arrival of Paul Jenkins in issue #12 (March 2000).

Jenkins wrote a story arc in which Banner and the three Hulks (Savage Hulk, grey Hulk, and the Merged Hulk, now considered a separate personality and referred to as the Professor) are able to mentally interact with one another, each personality taking over the shared body. During this, the four personalities (including Banner) confront yet another submerged Hulk, a sadistic Hulk intent on attacking the world for revenge.[19]

Bruce Jones followed as the series’ writer, and his run features Banner using yoga to take control of the Hulk while he is pursued by a secret conspiracy and aided by the mysterious Mr. Blue. Jones appended his 43-issue Incredible Hulk run with the limited series Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks #1-4 (Nov. 2004 – Feb. 2005), which Marvel published after putting the ongoing series on hiatus.

Peter David, who had initially signed a contract for the six-issue Tempest Fugit limited series, returned as writer when it was decided to make the story, now only five parts, part of the ongoing series instead.[20] David contracted to complete a year on the title. Tempest Fugit revealed that Nightmare has manipulated the Hulk for years, tormenting him in various ways for “inconveniences” that the Hulk had caused him, including the sadistic Hulk Jenkins had introduced.[21] After a four-part tie-in to the House of M crossover and a one-issue epilogue, David left the series once more, citing the need to do non-Hulk work for the sake of his career.[22]

Planet Hulk and World War HulkMain
article: Planet Hulk
Main article: World War Hulk

Promotional art for World War Hulk #1 by David Finch.In the 2006 crossover storyline Planet Hulk by writer Greg Pak, a secret group of superhero leaders, the Illuminati, consider the Hulk an unacceptable potential risk to Earth, and rocket him into space to live a peaceful existence on a planet uninhabited by intelligent life. After a trajectory malfunction, the Hulk crashes on the violent planet Sakaar. Weakened by his journey, he is captured and eventually becomes a gladiator who scars the face of Sakaar’s tyrannical emperor. The Hulk becomes a rebel leader and later usurps Sakaar’s throne through combat with the Red King and his armies.

After Hulk’s rise to emperor, the vessel used to send Hulk to Sakaar explodes, killing millions in Sakaar’s capital, including his pregnant queen, Caiera, and the damage to the tectonic plates nearly destroys the planet.

The Hulk, enraged, returns to Earth with the remnants of Sakaar’s citizens, and his allies, the Warbound, seeking retribution against the Illuminati. After laying siege to Manhattan, the Hulk learns one of his allies allowed the explosion to happen when Red King troops planted the bomb. He reverts to his Bruce Banner form after a fight with the Sentry and is taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

Retitling and new Hulk seriesAs of issue #113 (Feb. 2008), the series was retitled The Incredible Hercules, still written by Greg Pak but starring the mythological demigod Hercules and teenage genius Amadeus Cho.

Marvel also launched a new volume of Hulk, written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Ed McGuinness. The series featured the debut of a new Red Hulk, and Banner emerging from a coma and resuming his changes into the Green Hulk. After issue #12, The Incredible Hulk #600 was released, in which Red Hulk absorbs Hulk’s radiation and claims Banner can never turn into the Hulk again. The series then continued with issue #13, with Banner questioning whether he should be glad that Hulk is gone or even if the Hulk is truly gone. The Incredible Hulk also continued with #601 onward, in which Banner seeks out his son Skaar, offering to train him to kill the Hulk in the eventuality of the Hulk’s return. Under the aegis of megalomaniac Norman Osborn, Banner is re-exposed to gamma radiation, re-initiating the radiation in his body, thus allowing Banner to turn into the Hulk once more. Osborn explains he wants the Hulk to return, taking Banner out of the equation, and having him fight Skaar, hopefully killing each other.

In a multi-series crossover titled “Fall of the Hulks”, beginning December 2009, Banner allies himself with the Red Hulk, revealed as a former agent of the supervillain group the Intelligencia,[23] and, in fact, General Thunderbolt Ross; the one Banner had killed was a Life Model Decoy[24] In the concurrent “Hulked Out Heroes” arc, writer Jeff Parker has the Intelligencia irradiate several heroes, turning them into destructive Hulk versions of themselves until they are cured.

In the now retitled The Incredible Hulks #612, Banner tries to rekindle his marriage with Betty Ross, who is now the Red She-Hulk.

Characterization
Bruce Banner
The core of the Hulk, Bruce Banner has been portrayed differently by different writers, but common themes persist. Banner, a genius, is emotionally withdrawn in most fashions.[3] Banner designed the gamma bomb which caused his affliction, and the ironic twist of his self-inflicted fate has been one of the most persistent common themes.[4] Arie Kaplan describes the character thus: “Bruce Banner lives in a constant state of panic, always wary that the monster inside him will erupt, and therefore he can’t form meaningful bonds with anyone.”[7]

Throughout the Hulk’s published history, writers have continued to frame Bruce Banner in these themes. Under different writers, his fractured personality led to transformations into different versions of the Hulk. These transformations are usually involuntary, and often writers have tied the transformation to emotional triggers, such as rage and fear. As the series has progressed, different writers have adapted the Hulk, changing Hulk’s personality to reflect changes in Banner’s physiology or psyche. Writers have also refined and changed some aspects of Banner’s personality, showing him as emotionally repressed, but capable of deep love for Betty Ross, and for solving problems posed to him. Under the writing of Paul Jenkins, Banner was shown to be a capable fugitive, applying deductive reasoning and observation to figure out the events transpiring around him. On the occasions that Banner has controlled the Hulk’s body, he has applied principles of physics to problems and challenges and used deductive reasoning. It was shown after his ability to turn into the Hulk was taken away by the Red Hulk that Banner has been extremely versatile as well as cunning when dealing with the many situations that followed.

The HulkDuring the experimental detonation of a gamma bomb, scientist Bruce Banner rushes to save a teenager who has driven onto the testing field. Pushing the teen, Rick Jones, into a trench, Banner himself is caught in the blast, absorbing massive amounts of radiation. He awakens later in an infirmary, seeming relatively unscathed, but that night transforms into a lumbering grey form that breaks through the wall and escapes. A soldier in the ensuing search party dubs the otherwise unidentified creature a “hulk”.[25]

The original version of the Hulk was often shown as simple and quick to anger. His first transformations were triggered by sundown, and his return to Banner by dawn. However, in Incredible Hulk #4, Banner started using a gamma-ray device to transform at will.[26] In more recent Hulk stories, emotions trigger the change. Although grey in his debut, difficulties for the printer led to a change in his color to green. In the original tale, the Hulk divorces his identity from Banner’s, decrying Banner as “that puny weakling in the picture.”[25] From his earliest stories, the Hulk has been concerned with finding sanctuary and quiet,[4] and often is shown reacting emotionally to situations quickly. Grest and Weinberg call Hulk the “dark, primordial side of [Banner’s] psyche.”[6] Even in the earliest appearances, Hulk spoke in the third person. The Hulk retains a modest intelligence, thinking and talking in full sentences, and Lee even gives the Hulk expository dialogue in issue six, allowing readers to learn just what capabilities the Hulk has, when the Hulk says, “But these muscles ain’t just for show! All I gotta do is spring up and just keep goin’!” In Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics, Les Daniels addresses the Hulk as an embodiment of cultural fears of radiation and nuclear science. He quotes Jack Kirby thus: “As long as we’re experimenting with radioactivity there’s no telling what may happen, or how much our advancements may cost us.” Daniels continues, “The Hulk became Marvel’s most disturbing embodiment of the perils inherent in the atomic age.”[27]

Though usually a loner, the Hulk helped to form both the Avengers[28] and the Defenders.[29] He was able to determine that the changes were now triggered by emotional stress.[30]

The Fantastic Four #12 (March 1963), featured the Hulk’s first battle with the Thing. Although many early Hulk stories involve General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross trying to capture or destroy the Hulk, the main villain is often, like Hulk, a radiation based character, like the Gargoyle or the Leader, along with other foes such as the Toad Men, or Asian warlord General Fang. Ross’ daughter, Betty, loves Banner and criticizes her father for pursuing the Hulk. General Ross’ right-hand man, Major Glenn Talbot, also loves Betty and is torn between pursuing the Hulk and trying to gain Betty’s love more honorably. Rick Jones serves as the Hulk’s friend and sidekick in these early tales.

In the 1970s, Hulk was shown as more prone to anger and rage, and less talkative. Writers played with the nature of his transformations,[31] briefly giving Banner control over the change, and the ability to maintain control of his Hulk form.

Hulk stories began to involve other dimensions, and in one, Hulk met the empress Jarella. Jarella used magic to bring Banner’s intelligence to Hulk, and came to love him, asking him to become her mate. Though Hulk returned to Earth before he could become her king, he would return to Jarella’s kingdom of K’ai again.

When Bill Mantlo took on writing duties, he led the character into the arena of political commentary when Hulk traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel, encountering both the violence of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and the Jewish Israeli heroine Sabra. Soon after, Hulk encountered the Arabian Knight, a Bedouin superhero.[4]

Under Mantlo’s writing, a mindless Hulk was sent to the “Crossroads of Eternity”, where Banner was revealed to have suffered childhood traumas which engendered Bruce’s repressed rage.[32]

Having come to terms with his issues, at least for a time, Hulk and Banner physically separated under John Byrne’s writing. Separated from the Hulk by Doc Samson,[33] Banner was recruited by the U.S. government to create the Hulkbusters, a government team dedicated to catching Hulk. Banner and Ross married,[34] but Byrne’s change in the character was reversed by Al Milgrom, who reunited the two personas,[35] and with issue #324, returned the Hulk to his grey coloration, with the changes occurring at night, regardless of Banner’s emotional state. The Hulk appeared to perish in a gamma bomb explosion, but was instead sent to Jarella’s home dimension of K’ai.

Shortly after returning to Earth, Hulk took on the identity of “Joe Fixit,” a shadowy behind the scenes figure, working in Las Vegas on behalf of a casino owner, Michael Berengetti.[36] For months, Banner was repressed in Hulk’s mind, but slowly began to reappear. Hulk and Banner began to change back and forth again at dusk and dawn, as the character initially had, but this time, they worked together to advance both their goals, using written notes as communication as well as meeting on a mental plane to have conversations. In The Incredible Hulk #333, the Leader describes the grey Hulk persona as strongest during the night of the new moon and weakest during the full moon. Eventually, the Green Hulk began to reemerge.[37]

In issue #377, David revamped the Hulk again; Doctor Leonard Samson engages the Ringmaster’s services to hypnotize Bruce Banner and force him, the Savage Hulk (Green Hulk) and Mr. Fixit (grey Hulk) to confront Banner’s past abuse at the hands of his father, Brian Banner. During the session, the three identities confront a “Guilt Hulk,” which sadistically torments the three with the abuse of Banner’s father. Facing down this abuse, a new larger and smarter Hulk emerges and completely replaces the “human” Bruce Banner and Hulk personae. This Hulk is a culmination of the three aspects of Banner. He has the vast power of the Savage Hulk, the cunning of the grey Hulk, and the intelligence of Bruce Banner.

Hulk: Future Imperfect #2 (Jan. 1993) depicting the Maestro. Cover art by George Pérez.Peter David then introduces the Hulk to the Pantheon, a secretive organization built around an extended family of superpowered people.[38] The family members, mostly distant cousins to each other, had codenames based in the mythos of the Trojan War, and were descendants of the founder of the group, Agamemnon. When Agamemnon leaves, he puts the Hulk in charge of the organization. The storyline ends when it is revealed Agamemnon has traded his offspring to an alien race to gain power. The Hulk leads the Pantheon against the aliens, and then moves on. During his leadership of the Pantheon, Hulk encounters a depraved version of himself from the future called Maestro, who Delphi saw in a vision back in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #401 with part of the events occurring concurrently in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #415.

Thrown into the future, Hulk finds himself allied with Rick Jones, now an old man, in an effort to destroy the tyrant Maestro. Unable to stop him in any other manner, Hulk uses the time machine that brought him to the future to send the Maestro back into the heart of the very Gamma Bomb test that spawned the Hulk.

Artistically, the character has been depicted as progressively more muscular in the years since his debut.[39]

Powers,
appearance and abilitiesThe Hulk possesses the potential for limitless physical strength depending directly on his emotional state, particularly his anger.[40] This has been reflected in the repeated comment, “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets.” After probing, the entity Beyonder once claimed that the Hulk’s potential strength had “no finite element inside.”[41] His durability, regeneration, and endurance also increase in proportion to his temper.[42] Greg Pak described the Hulk shown during World War Hulk as having a level of physical power where “Hulk was stronger than any mortal—and most immortals—who ever walked the Earth.”[43]

The Hulk is resistant to most forms of injury or damage. The extent varies between interpretations, but he has withstood the equivalent of core solar temperatures,[44] nuclear explosions,[45] and planet-exploding impacts.[46] He has been shown to have both regenerative and adaptive healing abilities, including growing tissues to allow him to breathe underwater,[47] surviving unprotected in space for extended periods,[48][49] and when injured, healing from most wounds within seconds.[50]

His powerful legs allow him to leap into lower Earth orbit or across continents,[51] and he has displayed sufficient superhuman speed to match Thor,[52] or the Sentry.[53] He also has less commonly described powers, including abilities allowing him to “home in” to his place of origin in New Mexico,[54] resist psychic control,[55] grow stronger from radiation[56] or dark magic,[57] and to see and interact with astral forms.[58]

In the early days of the first Hulk comic series, “massive” doses of gamma rays (such as from the explosion of a hand-held nuclear grenade) would cause the Hulk to transform back to Bruce Banner, though this ability was written out of the character by the 1970s.

As Bruce Banner, he is considered one of the greatest minds on Earth. He has developed expertise in the fields of biology, chemistry, engineering, and physiology, and holds a Ph.D. in nuclear physics. He possesses “a mind so brilliant it cannot be measured on any known intelligence test.”[59] Bruce Banner also makes use of his intelligence to create highly advanced technology labelled as “Bannertech”, which is on par with technological development from Tony Stark or Doctor Doom. The most common Bannertech Bruce uses is a force field able to shrug off blows from Hulk-level entities, along with a teleporter, which can be used to transport an unknown number of people. Bannertech is also used by Amadeus Cho, as well as the Hulk persona itself.

In The Science of Superheroes, Lois Grest and Robert Weinberg examined Hulk’s powers, explaining the scientific flaws in them. Most notably, they point out that the level of gamma radiation Banner is exposed to at the initial blast would induce radiation sickness and kill him, or if not, create significant cancer risks for Banner, because hard radiation strips cells of their ability to function. They go on to offer up an alternate origin, in which a Hulk might be created by biological experimentation with adrenal glands and GFP.

Charles Q. Choi from LiveScience.com further explains that unlike the Hulk, gamma rays are not green; existing as they do beyond the visible spectrum, gamma rays have no color at all that we can describe. He also explains that gamma rays are so powerful (the most powerful form of electromagnetic radiation and 10,000 times more powerful than visible light) that they can even create matter from energy – a possible explanation for the increased mass that Bruce Banner takes on during transformations. “Just as the Incredible Hulk ‘is the strongest one there is,’ as he says himself, so too are gamma ray bursts the most powerful explosions known.”[60]

Related characters

Main article: List of Hulk supporting characters
Over the long publication history of the Hulk’s adventures, many recurring characters have featured prominently, including his sidekick Rick Jones, love interest Betty Ross, and her father, the often adversarial General “Thunderbolt” Ross.

FamilyBruce had a stillborn child with his first wife, Betty Ross Banner, who is now the Red She-Hulk. He has two sons with his deceased second wife Caiera Oldstrong on the planet Sakaar named Skaar and Hiro-Kala.[61] Skaar was introduced in November 2007 and had his own comic series before joining Bruce in his series. Hiro-Kala was a former slave from planet Sakaar and is currently on his way to Earth to be reunited with his father and brother. Banner also has daughter from an alternate reality named Lyra with Thundra who was first introduced in August 2008. Banner may also be Carmilla Black’s biological father. His cousin, Jennifer Walters, is She-Hulk, who has generally acted as his substitute sister since Bruce visited her family as a child.[62]

Other versions
Main article: Alternative versions of the Hulk
In addition to his mainstream incarnation, Hulk has also been depicted in other fictional universes, in which Bruce Banner’s transformation, behavior, or circumstances vary from the mainstream setting. In some stories, someone other than Bruce Banner is the Hulk.

In other media

Main article: Hulk in other media
The Hulk character and the concepts behind it have been raised to the level of iconic status by many within and outside the comic book industry. In 2003, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine claimed the character had “stood the test of time as a genuine icon of American pop culture.”[63]

The Hulk is often viewed as a reaction to war. As well as being a reaction to the Cold War, the character has been a cipher for the frustrations the Vietnam War raised, and Ang Lee said that the Iraq War influenced his direction.[6][64][65] In the Michael Nyman edited edition of The Guardian, Stefanie Diekmann explored Marvel Comics’ reaction to the September 11 attacks. Diekmann discussed The Hulk’s appearance in the comic book Heroes, claiming that his greater prominence, alongside Captain America, aided in “stressing the connection between anger and justified violence without having to depict anything more than a well-known and well-respected protagonist.”[66]

In Comic Book Nation, Wright alludes to Hulk’s counterculture status, referring to a 1965 Esquire magazine poll amongst college students which “revealed that student radicals ranked Spider-Man and the Hulk alongside the likes of Bob Dylan and Che Guevara as their favorite revolutionary icons.” Wright goes on to cite examples of his anti-authority symbol status. Two of these are “The Ballad of the Hulk” by Jerry Jeff Walker, and the Rolling Stone cover for September 30, 1971, a full color Herb Trimpe piece commissioned for the magazine.[31][67] The Hulk has been caricatured in such animated television series as The Simpsons[68] Robot Chicken, and Family Guy,[69] and such comedy TV series as The Young Ones.[70] The character is also used a cultural reference point for someone displaying anger or agitation. For example, in a 2008 Daily Mirror review of an EastEnders episode, a character is described as going “into Incredible Hulk mode, smashing up his flat.”[71] The Hulk, especially his alter-ego Bruce Banner, is also a common reference in rap music. The term was represented as an analogue to marijuana in Dr. Dre’s 2001,[72] while more conventional references are made in Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri’s popular single “Welcome to Atlanta”.[73]

The 2003 Ang Lee directed Hulk film saw discussion of the character’s appeal to Asian Americans.[74] The Taiwanese born Ang Lee commented on the “subcurrent of repression” that underscored the character of The Hulk, and how that mirrored his own experience: “Growing up, my artistic leanings were always repressed—there was always pressure to do something ‘useful,’ like being a doctor.” Jeff Yang, writing for the SF Gate, extended this self-identification to Asian American culture, arguing that “the passive-aggressive streak runs deep among Asian Americans—especially those who have entered creative careers, often against their parents’ wishes.”[75]

The Incredible Hulk was parodied as The Incredible Sulk in Jackpot. Sulk was a normal boy until an upset triggered an ‘incredible sulk’, much to his teachers’ consternation.

Earlier characters called “The Hulk”Prior to the debut of the Hulk in May 1962, Marvel had earlier monster characters that used the Hulk name.

The first was a huge robot built by Albert Poole called The Hulk. It was actually armor that Poole would wear. The character debuted in June 1960 in Strange Tales #75. In modern day reprints the character’s name was changed to Grutan.[76]
The second was Xemnu The Living Hulk, a huge furry alien monster, who first appeared in November 1960 in Journey Into Mystery #62.[77] The character reappeared in March 1961 in issue #66. Since then the character has been a mainstay in the Marvel Universe. He was renamed Xemnu The Living Titan.[78]
The third was a fictional monster from a monster movie called The Hulk. He was depicted as a huge green slimy monster. The character debuted in July 1961 in Tales to Astonish #21. In modern day reprints the characters name was changed to The Glop[79]